SHARON RYAN MONTGOMERY, PSY.D.

High Conflict Divorce Impact & Dynamics: Effective Role/Strategies

for Adult & Child Clinicians

Differences

Specialty Guidelines/Standards- APA,NJ BOPE, AFCC, AAML, and APSAC.

Forensics

Custody Evaluations

Termination of Parental Rights Evaluations

Court Involved Therapy

Child Abuse/Sexual Abuse Interviews & Evaluations

Brief Focused Evaluations

Knowledge base, training, and Experience

Differences

Record keeping

Retainers

Agreements/consents

Releases

Records

Liabilities/Fear Factor – Not for Everyone!

Similarities

Overlapping populations – Impossible to avoid or anticipate

50% 1st Marriage divorce rate

60% 2nd Marriage divorce rate

85% Remarriage rate/blended family issues abound

Forensically Attuned Practice for Clinical

Psychologists

Anticipate- Any case can morph into a litigation involved matter. Beware of the back door phenomena – manipulation

Adult Clients Unhappy individuals->unhappy relationships &

marriages=divorce

Accidents, P.I. Cases

Domestic Violence

Malpractice

DUIs

Sexual Assault/Rape

Work related litigations –LAD

Criminal Matters

Forensically Attuned Practice for Clinical Psychologists

Children

Impacted by parental conflict & angst

Caught in the middle

Divergent/competitive parenting

Custody Disputes

Adjustments, loss issues, 2 homes

Abuse

Bullying

Accidents, P.I. cases

Rules, Guidelines and Standards of Practice

Legal Issues

Legal custody/Decision Making

Residential Custody/Parenting Plans

Case Law –

Removals- Baures v. Lewis

Confidentiality – Kinsella v. Kinsella

Grandparents rights

Legal Issues

Confidentiality – changing July 2016 –Homogenizes all Mental Health Practitioners under one rule, weakening psychologists prior position.

Can be waived and pierced

Civil Commitments.

Proceedings against a patient who has committed a crime.

Competency to stand trial in criminal situation.

Establishing validity of a Will.

All court ordered psychological evaluations (unless judge specifies otherwise) or Court rules.

Assessments of a person’s competency to make a valid contract.

Legal Issues

During mental health services sought or received in aid of commission of a crime.

Proceedings against provider (suits, board complaints).

Proceedings for application for firearms.

Reports of child or elder abuse.

Tort cases of psychological damages.

Will pierce the privilege once granted marital therapists especially in Tevis cases, etc.

Legal Issues

Court Orders – Obtain always

Releases One parent pre-divorce.

Two parents in joint legal custody.

Adolescents -> 14 years of age

All communication/Collaterals

Best Practice/Children Switzerland Stance

Buy in from both

Child’s Safe Haven

Alternate bringing

Joint Feedback best

Recommend a parenting coordinator –

Don’t become one - Let P.C. make recommendations.

Dual Roles/Conflicts

To be avoided always

Cannot serve in two roles simultaneously.

Adult/Child therapist

Marital/Couples /Individual

Therapist/P.C./Mediator

Therapists can never serve as evaluators, as parenting coordinators, or mediators – nor can they make recommendations regarding visitation/custody.

In feedback to court can only give progress, dynamics, diagnosis and prognosis. Only regarding Individual you have seen/treated.

Dual Roles/Conflicts

Evaluators can become therapists or parenting coordinators with mutual agreement and understanding that they can never become an evaluator again.

Evaluators cannot become mediators but can participate in settlement based processes.

Scope of Practice

Staying within areas of expertise especially:

Child Abuse/Sexual abuse

Domestic Violence

Substance Abuse

Communication/Coordination

Only with releases and Court Orders.

Importance of neutrality/objectivity

Avoidance of alliances especially in visitation refusal/alienation cases and high conflict clients.

Importance of coordination with other clinicians.

Teaming rather than being drawn into the conflict and sides.

Don’t be venue to litigate.

Record Keeping

Dilemma of process notes, HIPPA Compliance and no confidentiality in some forensic matters

Parallel files indicated for therapy cases.

Forensic files should be extremely detailed and well documented.

Depositions & Subpoenas - Orders

Discuss with clients and clients attorney only.

Go over file with both.

Nothing can be eliminated or modified.

Whole file can be court ordered for in camera review or deposition.

Resist all attorney only orders .

Must however respond and seek to quash.

If court ordered must comply unless harm a factor.

Depositions & Subpoenas - Orders

Custody Evaluator’s Requests

Can refuse altogether – raises suspicions at times.

Discuss with client and focus of issues relevant to parenting only.

Can only discuss and comment on those you have seen.

Preferably respond in writing.

Regardless – you can ask to review what is summarized for the report.

High Conflict Divorce

We increasingly are searching for more child sensitive approaches and interventions to avoid litigation and High Conflict.

Courts have become more settlement oriented – Mediation, Parent Coordination, collaborative law, parenting workshops, etc.

More reliant on mental health professionals with the goals of quicker response time and buffering the children better from the conflict – and removing them from the court system and litigation.

High Conflict Divorce

Burgeoning research in the field has guided these efforts . Type/structure of parenting plans not as significant for

outcomes.

Using Neurodevelopmental research to craft parenting plans

Children do best with frequent/consistent access to both parents.

How parents relate to one another and their children post-divorce is more important than the specific amount of time. Quality vs. Quantity.

Children do best in situations where conflict is low, life is normalized/predictable and parents observe the three C’s – communicate, cooperate, and co-parent.

How to Identify by Behavior?

Represents 10-15% of the population post-divorce

Perpetual Use of Litigation, Attorneys and Court System to Resolve Issues

Abundance of lawyers

Choice of litigators not collaborators

Record of significant lawyer contact over trivia

History of having been fired by attorneys

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

Inability to Adhere to Court Orders or Interventions to Date

Visitation Issues

Child Support/Finances Disputes

R.O.’s/Consent Orders

Telephone access problems

History of professional shopping and multiple therapists/interventions

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

Overt/Covert Acting Out of Anger through children & anything they can identify to act out revenge.

Covert Passive-Aggressive Clothing Control children’s time - like activities Rigid/inflexible time Withhold information Refuse to Communicate/Blocking Access Unilateral decision making Premature introductions of significant others

Overt Fighting, arguing in front of children, over phone, through

relatives.

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

Over-reactive to everything, most negative spin and obsessively monitoring the other parent. Can’t say or see anything positive about the other parent or

parent’s role.

Refer to other parent in 3rd person, as Mr. or Mrs. or pet derogatory name.

Jekyl and Hyde comments/Splitting/Black or White thinking.

Project entire blame/Accept no responsibility.

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

False Allegations (Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Substance Abuse, Internet/Pornography Abuse) Narcissistic injury > being acted out

Loss issues

Paranoia

Lack of trust

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

Extreme Competitiveness resulting in win-loss mentality.

Blinded by their hurt and anger at each other – bigger than their love of their children.

Confuse and generalize adult/spousal roles with parenting role and need to be able to separate these.

How to Identify High Conflict by Behavior?

Alienating Behaviors

The ultimate outcome in unresolved anger & enmeshment in divorce bitterness.

Ranges from subtle degenerative to total alienation (Most frequently Multi-Determined).

Impact of High Conflict on Children

1.) Tremendous anxiety and insecurity

Producing

Separation/Individuation problems (clingy; transition trauma)

Sleep disturbances

Fears; phobias

Lack of concentration/school difficulties

Impact of High Conflict on Children

2.) Depression/Loss Issues Can be exacerbated by multiple losses (extended family,

peers/school, and revolving door of significant others and unpredictable access to parent.

Removals a huge problem in this area

Pathological grieving

Anger/Aggressive

All symptoms of depression

Impact of High Conflict on Children

3.) Behavioral problems related to inconsistent parenting/competitive parenting. No limits. Polarized parenting.

Defiant/oppositional

Poorly developing conscience, lying, manipulation

Extreme attention seeking behaviors

Spoiled, indulged kids

Impact of High Conflict on Children

4.) Loss of Sense of Self due to parents needs and hatred taking precedence over child’s needs (i.e. Parent views time as his/hers and not child’s; won’t take to activities; insists child conform to his/her schedule). Pleasers/overly compliant

Dependent/non-assertive

May rebel in adolescence

Impact of High Conflict on Children

5.) Identification with aggressor in feelings and/or behavior.

Acting Out

Splitting

Impact of High Conflict on Children

6.) Loyalty conflicts

Exacerbated by age/cognitive issues; as a means of resolving internal conflict for child.

Transition/separation problems

Severe missing of other parent that interferes with parenting time (i.e. excessive cell phone contact).

Visitation refusal

Parental estrangement

Alienated parent

Interventions

Collaborative Law – Divorce Coaches and Child Specialists

Traditional Mediation/Dispute Resolution

Therapeutic Mediation

Parent Coordination

Arbitration

Interventions

Evaluations

Emergency Stabilization/Case management assessments/consultations (Jurisdiction).

Risk Assessment/Problem Focused Evaluations (Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, Parental Alienation).

Early Neutral Screening Evaluations

Visitation Refusal Evaluations

Interventions

Evaluations Continued Bonding/Attachment Evaluations/psychological

parent.

Relocation Evaluation

Comprehensive Custody/Visitation Parenting Time Evaluations (To develop plan, removals, etc.)

Custody/Visitation Settlement Evaluations (To develop plan).

GAL

Interventions

Treatment Forensically Informed Treatment; Psychotherapy

(Not to answer visitation/parenting time question).

Therapeutic Supervised Visitation

Therapeutic Reunification/Recontact/Family Interventions

Family Intensives Overcoming Barriers

New ways for Families

Stable Pathways

Families Moving Forward

Build Family Resiliance

Day to Day Management

Seek consultation and early intervention.

Don’t reinforce/encourage hostile stance.

Appeal through focus on children’s advocacy.

Neutrally be a reality tester.

Deal with your counter-transference constructively. Don’t go on attack.

Assume a firm, consistent, but supportive & empathetic stance.

Set boundaries & rules in writing.

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Questions

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